


Stay Still

by LancePuns



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Comfort, F/M, Injury, Pre-Relationship, Shirtless, Undressing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-12 16:08:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29637186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LancePuns/pseuds/LancePuns
Summary: Link got hurt defending Zelda from a lynel. Despite his protests, she makes an effort to treat his wounds and mend his clothes afterward.
Relationships: Link/Zelda (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 32





	Stay Still

**Author's Note:**

> I'm a day late but.....Happy Legend of Zelda Day! This series was my first video game franchise, starting with Twilight Princess. My favorite is Skyward Sword, followed by TP, WW, and BotW!
> 
> Anyway, here's a simple story I wrote to help me with writer's block on my current projects. The prompt I was given was something along the lines of "B helps A undress after an injury" and this popped out of my brain. Enjoy!

As the princess dabbed the cut on his cheek gently, Link let out a quiet hiss of pain. Zelda shook her head. “Hold still, or I can’t help mend your wounds,” she scolded, her eyebrows furrowing as she grabbed Link’s shoulder to keep him steady and dabbed his wounds with her wet handkerchief. 

The hero sighed as he looked down at the ground. He knew she was trying to help, but that didn’t make him feel any better about how coddled he felt.

Regardless, he didn’t regret his actions. While monsters were less common nowadays than they were when Ganon was still around, Link still had to defend the princess on occasion when they were traveling. Usually, the monsters in question were barely anything Link needed to worry about, and they’d be on their way with the monsters in puffs of smoke within a minute. This was not one of those times, as they had accidentally alarmed a white-maned lynel to their presence. The monster was a challenge, and Link had more than once had to prioritize protecting Zelda instead of himself. He eventually came out on top in the encounter, but he had to rely on the champion abilities he had gained during his journeys to slay the beast.

Zelda stood, interrupting Link’s thoughts of the battle, and walked over to the medical kit she had packed for the journey. “Alright, now let’s treat your body wounds,” she said, pulling out the bundle of bandages, a small needle, and thread. Link glared at her, but she stood her ground and glared back. “It would not be wise to leave those gashes untreated, Link.” When he didn’t seem to shift or change his stance, she added, “The sooner you’re healed, the sooner I won’t have to pester you about this. This is the fastest way to that.”

The hero sighed and nodded, admitting defeat as he slowly moved to take his shirt off. A sharp pain shot through his body as he was pulling the fabric up, and he grimaced as he let go of the tunic. Zelda rushed over, putting her supplies down and gently holding Link’s arms and hands. “Hey, deep breaths. In through your nose, out through your mouth.” Link nodded, doing as he was told to help ease the pain until it subsided fully. Zelda softly slid her hands up Link’s arms, careful not to touch any of the wounds she could see. “I suppose I’ll need to help you out of your shirt,” she noted, and she did not miss the way Link groaned under his breath. She shook her head, “how did you survive so long on your own being this stubborn?”

He sighed and looked up at her. “Fighting for survival is different from fighting to protect,” he noted, pulling his arms slowly up as she walked behind him and grabbed the fabric.

Zelda slowly pulled the fabric up, bunching the fabric a few centimeters off of Link’s torso to pull it off easier. She raised his arms as she responded, “Oh, so I’m the reason you’re injured?” The shirt slid over his head and off the rest of his arms as she finished her question.

The knight shook his head, making a face at her as she hung the shirt up to be mended later. “I’d get hurt a billion more times to protect you, princess,” he stated sternly as if there was nothing that could change that fact. 

Said princess froze at the branch she was hanging the shirt at, blood creeping its way up her face as she turned around. “Don’t just say that. And I told you, I’m not the princess anymore. Call me Zelda, please.” The only response she got was a nod, and she sat behind him to survey the damage done. There were a couple of bad gashes here and there, at least one of them would need stitching to heal properly. Zelda grabbed her cloth and touched around the first wound, “Please stay still this time, Link.” He grunted an affirmation, and she went to work treating his wounds. 

In total, there were about five gashes. Only two of them needed stitches, one on his right arm and one in the lower-left area of his back. The rest were small enough that Zelda simply dabbed at them at the end and bandaged Link up, and she theorized that it was likely thanks to Mipha’s Grace that his wounds were no worse than they were now. When she was done, his entire torso looked like a mummy, but she was happy to note there was no blood seeping out of the bandages. That was the sign of a job well done in her mind. 

Unfortunately, by the time everything was wrapped up regarding his wounds, the sun was setting. They agreed to just set up camp where they were for the night, though Zelda was stern with Link in forcing him to rest while she took care of the tent, bedroll, and fire. He wasn’t happy about it, but he didn’t argue against it.

By sundown, the two were sitting a couple of feet apart as Zelda knitted the tunic back to perfection. The light of the fire was enough for her to see what she was doing, and Link embraced the light as he gingerly and carefully stirred their dinner over the blaze. Though the mending job took a few minutes, Zelda held it up once she was done to present it to the injured man, “I believe this should do. Practically brand new!” she said with a cheery tone. Link pulled the big spoon out of the soup and looked up, taking a quick once over the shirt. A small smile formed on his face and he nodded at the princess, an affirmation of her good effort. She took it in stride and put the shirt back on the tree from before.

After dinner, Link moved to stand up, but Zelda quickly moved a hand to his good arm, supporting him as he stood. “You’re not going anywhere but bed. You need your rest.” She quickly but carefully guided him to the tent, stopping only to pull the flap open as she let him slide off her and lay down in the bedroll she had laid out for him. With that, she went back to put the fire out and ensure their supplies were properly packed for them to leave in the morning without too much fuss. A few minutes later, she was sure they would be fine the following day and decided she could turn in for the evening. As she entered, Zelda found Link laying a bit spread out on his stomach. His slow breathing and quiet snores indicated that he was fully asleep, but that was less of a concern to Zelda in light of one glaring problem.

He had fallen asleep not only laying on his bedroll but partly atop her bedroll as well.

Normally, this would hardly be an issue; she would just wake him up or push his sleeping body aside. Both options, in her mind, were out the window as he laid there injured and finally resting like she had been asking him to since the lynel encounter. 

With a sigh, Zelda swallowed her pride and laid down next to him, taking a position by his uninjured arm. While the gash on his back was on that side, she found it less likely that she might accidentally hit his lower torso while sleeping. Though as she laid there on her back, she was acutely aware that she was mere centimeters away from his body. It was hard not to think about it; since reuniting, the two had become much closer, even more so than before the calamity. It was becoming increasingly difficult for her to ignore the romantic feelings she had for the knight, especially when he acted and spoke the way he had that day. Saving her from beasts that had slain dozens, if not hundreds of soldiers and civilians. Telling her that he would throw himself into danger without a second thought just to protect her from harm. As silly as it was, words and actions like that had an effect on her. Of course, with how quiet he was, knowing he could talk easily with her when he could not with many others gave her hope that perhaps her feelings were not one-sided. 

Eventually, the ambiance of the night got the better of her, and Zelda fell asleep with her knight bandaged up beside her.

**Author's Note:**

> I really hope this is close to what will be in BotW2, with Zelda helping Link after he's protected her. That game looks like it'll be a field of Zelink like this and I'm really looking forward to it!


End file.
